We are all familiar with the word “peace.” It denotes, freedom from disturbance; tranquility; mental or emotional calm. It seems we are constantly striving towards it but too many times we are not quite able to attain it. It’s a word that may offer hope but may in reality appear quite elusive at times.
     Jesus is described as the Prince of Peace, the One we can turn to when all hell seems to be breaking loose. Time and again, if we allow Him, He can prove to be that stable anchor we need to keep us steady when our world feels shaky and unstable. 
    As I began researching material to write on the whole idea of God being a God of peace, I came across a number of stories alluding to this whole idea of peace. Yet, somehow, they did not get my attention in the way I wanted. I also looked at portions of scripture on peace and a few things caught my attention but didn’t seem to quite grab it. Then Psalm 91 came to my attention. It doesn’t speak about peace per se, but about the confidence we can have in God’s protection. And that grabbed my attention. As I perused this very familiar psalm, I realised that pretty much every verse was reinforcing God’s covering and protection over our lives. But here’s the key - we have to abide in His presence. It is in His presence that we are covered and where we can ultimately find peace.
    It doesn’t speak about taking away or removing the problems, challenges or attacks that may come our way, but about God protecting us, shielding us from every attack that comes. And to me that’s where our peace comes from - knowing that no matter what comes our way, God has our back and He will not allow the enemy to prevail against us. 
    He that dwells in the secret place of the Most High, shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in Him I will trust.” (Psalm 91:1-2) The opening lines of this psalm cover everything that comes after. It is because we are dwelling in God’s presence, that we are protected from all harm and evil. And it is because we are trusting in Him that we are safe. We are safe because we know that we know, He will take care of us. It’s that quiet confidence and faith that brings a peace that makes no sense, so that as the arrows and the darts come toward us, we know that God is near and the present help we need. 
    Interestingly, this does not necessarily mean the absence of fear in our lives. As we face what we face, fear may be present, but we can also be honest with God and say, “God I am afraid but I trust You.” In 2 Chronicles 20, when king Jehoshaphat and Judah were faced with a combined army coming against them, they were very afraid. Immediately, Jehoshaphat turned to his God. He was honest with Him when he said, “I don’t know what to do but my eyes are on you.” (v.12) He did not pretend they were not in danger and he did not pretend to not be afraid. He was very much afraid but he also knew exactly Who to turn to. He also acknowledged that he felt totally helpless but, he would trust in His God. When God promised to fight for them, Jehoshaphat was at peace knowing that God would fight and win on their behalf. And God did not disappoint!
    So be encouraged. When you choose to abide in God’s presence and trust in Him, you can and will have peace knowing that He has your back and He will take care of you. God will not let you down. He is the God of peace.
    If you have accepted Jesus Christ into your life as your personal Lord and Saviour, I encourage you to do so today. In a world filled with chaos, we all need to be find that peace that only God can give, a peace that makes no sense at times. God is our peace. He will not fail us.

    This theme of mercy has truly been an encouragement to me at various times. It has been a reminder to me that God has the final say, especially when circumstances and situations seem to dictate otherwise.
    I am reminded of the story of Mephibosheth in the Bible. He was the grandson of king Saul. After Saul’s disobedience to God in 1 Samuel 15, God rejects him as king over His people, Israel. Through the prophet Samuel, He tells him that He will give his kingdom to someone else, ideally rejecting not just him but his family line after him. 
    Years later, however, when David becomes the new king over Israel, David, who was a close friend of Jonathan, Saul’s son, chooses to show kindness to any member of Saul’s household that could be found (2 Samuel 9). Mephibosheth, Jonathan’s son is mentioned to the king. In his kindness, David restores all the land that had belonged to Saul. As if that is not enough, he declares that he would always eat at his table (v.7).
    This is a story of mercy. In his latter days, Saul had been unfairly unkind to David and had tried to take his life. David could have felt justified to, in turn, show unkindness to Saul’s surviving household. Instead he chose to be a blessing. However, there is another part to this story. Mephibosheth was lame in his feet. He was five years old when news of his father’s and grandfather’s death came. His nurse picked  him up and as she hurried to leave with him, he fell and became lame in his feet (2 Samuel 4:4). Mephibosheth sees himself as useless and not deserving of this great honour and blessing from the king: “What is your servant that you should notice a dead dog like me?” (2 Samuel 9:8) Yet, David is not moved by who his family is or his physical condition. He chooses to show kindness and mercy to someone who  is deemed undeserving. 
    It’s the same with us and God. At times, we may not feel deserving of God’s kindness and mercy toward us. We know that we have done wrong, we know that our life is not perfect, we know that circumstances may deem us unfit for goodness to come our way. Yet, God does not see the way man sees. He does not choose to love us or be kind to us because we are deserving. It that were the case, I think you would agree that our lives would be miserable. 
    I thank God that He is not a God who judges the way man judges; He does not view things the way man does. His ways and thoughts are and will thankfully always be higher than ours (Isaiah 55:8-9). God is good. God is merciful. Period. It is not because of who we are or what we have done, but because of who He is and because of His mercy and love toward us.
    When Jesus came to this earth to die for you and me, it wasn’t because we were deserving of His grace and mercy, because we weren’t. It was because God loves us and chose instead to make a way for us to escape the consequences we do deserve - eternal damnation. Mephibosheth never expected goodness to come his way, but it did. I think at times, we too, as God’s children, feel undeserving when goodness comes our way. Yet, Psalm 103:17 says: “But the mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting upon them that fear Him, and His righteousness unto children’s children.” 
    This is just a simple reminder that God loves you. Period. His mercies are new every morning and they are eternal. He will always want the best for you and will always choose to be good to you even when, at times, you don’t deserve it. God is good. God is love. God is the God of mercy.
    If you have not accepted Jesus Christ into your life as your personal Lord and Saviour, I encourage you to do so today. We all need a God who loves and cares about us, whether we feel deserving or not. God will never fail us, He will never abandon us, He will always be there when we need Him. Be encouraged.

    In the Old Testament, we read the story of king Hezekiah, considered one of Judah’s most righteous kings. When he became king at the age of twenty-five, he restored Temple worship (2
Chronicles 29: 20-36), reversed his father’s idolatrous practices (2 Kings 18:3-4), and restored the celebration of the Passover (2 Chronicles 30). When the Assyrians came against Judah, he trusted in his God and God miraculously delivered them (2 Chronicles 32:1-23).
    Yet, for all his righteous and admirable acts, there came a time when Hezekiah faced certain death. He became sick with a fatal illness. Through the prophet Isaiah, the Lord instructed him to set his house in order because he was going to die, he would not survive. Hezekiah, in his distress, turned his face to the wall and cried out to God. He asked God to remember how he had walked in integrity before Him and how he had done good in His sight and he wept bitterly.
    Before Isaiah had even left the middle court, the Lord sent a message to him for Hezekiah. He told him that He had heard his prayer and seen his tears and He would heal him. He would also add fifteen years to his life!
    As I thought again about writing on God’s mercy, this story came to my mind. What I love is the reality of God’s love for us. Hezekiah had done a lot for the Lord, that was true. But when the time came for him to die and at the hands of an incurable disease, it seemed to him and everyone that it was the end. Even the prophet Isaiah, came to him with death news from the Lord. Hezekiah could have given up. He could have accepted his fate and allowed it to be the final judgement on his life but he did not. He cried out to his God and God heard him and gave a favourable response. Certainly, he put his case before God, reminding Him of all the good he had done and of his faithfulness to Him. 
    God is not an unreasonable God. In Isaiah 1:18a, He says: “Come now, and let us reason together…” God actually invites us to plead our case before Him. He is not so harsh that He refuses to listen when we speak. He is willing to hear what we have to say. In the case of Hezekiah, He could not help but acknowledge all that Hezekiah had done for Him. He not only listened but gave a favourable response. Right here, I see God’s mercy. God did not have to listen to Hezekiah’s plea for his life. He could have simply said, “It’s over. It’s time. There is nothing you can do or say to change my mind.” Yet, He didn’t just listen, He chose to listen and He chose to be merciful and spare Hezekiah’s life and add more years to him. Hezekiah’s illness did not have the final say, God’s mercy did!
    I think there are times when God’s mercy overextends itself. We can all probably think of times like this; times when we did not deserve a second, third or even fourth chance, but God gave it. I have experienced God giving me chances when I did not even deserve it, and, can I say, I certainly appreciated it! I think sometimes His mercy doesn’t even make sense but God is not concerned about what makes sense to us. He knows what is best and if He chooses to be merciful, just like Jesus was to the thief on the cross (Luke 23:32-43), then there is nothing we can do about it. Lamentations 3:23 says: “His mercies are new every morning...” His mercies are not new every week, or every month or every year, but every morning! It’s almost as if God does not want us to rely on old mercies. He makes sure that He renews His mercy every single day!
    In what ways has God shown mercy to you? How thankful are you that it is His mercy and love that are sustaining and keeping you? You don’t have to give in to despair when you don’t always get it right or when the situation seems irreversible. God’s mercy will sustain you and He knows exactly how to turn things around in your favour. In fact, His mercy has the final say, not the challenge you are facing. Isn’t it an amazing thing to have this much help from God? You don’t have to do life on your own. He is always there and He will always help us when we need it. Be encouraged!
    If you have not accepted Jesus Christ into your life as your personal Lord and Saviour, I encourage you to do so today. In this life, we all need a merciful God on our side. Challenges, temptations and situations will come to throw us off and upset us. But, when we turn to God, He will listen, He understands and He will answer. 
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    In Genesis Chapter Four, we read the story of Cain and Abel, sons of Adam and Eve. Cain worked the soil while Abel took care of the sheep. In the process of time, they both brought offerings to the Lord - Cain some of the fruits of the soil and Abel the fat of some of the firstborn of his flock. The Lord was pleased with and accepted Abel’s offering but he did not accept Cain’s offering. Because of this, Cain became very angry and while he and Abel were in the field, he killed him.
    When God confronted him about the whereabouts of his brother, he denied knowing anything. But God told him that his brother’s blood had cried out to him from the ground. As a result, he would no longer be able to cultivate the ground and would be a fugitive and vagabond in the earth. Cain complained that his punishment was too great and feared that anyone finding him would kill him. God in turn put a mark on him so that anyone finding him would not kill him.
    I admit I felt excited to write about this story of Cain. Cain was deserving of every punishment that was coming his way. After all he had taken his brother’s life and that was certainly worthy of death. His life on earth would consequently be a very difficult one where he would find no peace or favour with man or even the earth itself. He lost his livelihood, he lost his sense of security, all because of responding to a fit of jealous rage. 
    Yet, what I find interesting is that he had a conversation with God about it. He complained about the severity of his punishment and feared for his very life when ironically he had taken the life of another. Yet, I love the fact that God chose to be merciful to him. He could have ignored his cry of complaint. He could have reminded him that this punishment was what he deserved. After all, he had not given Abel a chance to plead for his life. He had not chosen to lessen his wrath against his brother. He did what he did and apparently thought he would get away with it. Yet, in spite of these obvious realities, God in His mercy and compassion, chose to spare him death at the hands of another. Imagine that!
    God’s ways are truly past finding out. They make absolutely no sense to us at times but when God chooses to show compassion and mercy it means He is also choosing to look past our sin and love us anyway. I am reminded of the whole story of salvation. As I mentioned in my last post, God’s mercy is not dependent on our works or on how good we are. When we cry out to Him He will hear and He will be merciful. I believe that if Cain had not had his conversation with God, things would have been different for him. God literally offered his protection although he did not deserve it.
    Romans 10:13 says: “Whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.” That’s a promise from God and when we cry out to him for mercy, He will not reject us. We may have to face some consequences for our actions, yes, but God’s mercy and compassion will also be evident in our lives. I liken the mark put on Cain by God to Jesus’ blood covering us. When we ask Jesus into our life to be our Lord and Saviour, His blood covers us. In turn, when God looks upon us, He does not see our sin but the blood of His Son on us. That blood covers and protects us from the punishment we deserve for the sin in our life. 
    All that this tells me is that God is more interested in saving us from the consequences of sin. He is more interested in sparing us the death penalty we deserve simply because He loves us. At the end of the day, no matter how deep we may have gone into sin, once we turn to God and ask Him for mercy, just like Cain turned to Him and complained about his punishment, God will hear and He will extend mercy to us. God is good. God is faithful. God is still the God of mercy!
    If you have not accepted Jesus Christ into your life as your personal Lord and Saviour, I encourage you to do so today. God has provided what we need to escape the consequences of sin. All we have to do is cry out to Him and He will hear and He will deliver. Be encouraged!

    The reality is we are living in a world where works can mean everything. We work hard to achieve and to feel accomplished. Many times we work hard for the approval of others, specifically some significant person or other in our lives. 
    What I love about God, is that He never asks or expect us to come to Him perfect. He knows we are not because, after all, He created us. In fact He created us so that we would need Him. So, although we may try so hard to win the approval of others to feel good about ourselves, we don’t have to strive to win God’s approval. We don’t have to strive for His love. We can come to Him just as we are and He will help us as needed. His mercy toward us is great and doesn’t require any “goodness” on our part to obtain it.
    Here, I think about the story of Jesus and the crucifixion (Luke 23:32-43). He is wrongfully accused and convicted and His sentence is death. He humbly accepts it knowing the ultimate and greater purpose behind it. But, while he hangs there on that cross, He is not alone. There are also two other men, criminals, who are crucified on either side of Him. One of them hurls insults at Him saying that if He is Messiah, He should save them and Himself. But there is the other criminal, the one who somehow is able to discern the reality of what is happening. He rebukes his fellow criminal. He asks him if he doesn’t fear God and asserts that they deserve their fate but Jesus does not because He has done nothing wrong (v.40-41). Then, turning to Jesus in humility, he asks Him to remember him when He comes into His kingdom (v.42). To this Jesus responds, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise” (v.43).
    I find myself smiling as I read Jesus’ response. He could easily have told that criminal that it was too late, He could not honour His request. He could easily have reminded him of his sin and his crime and told him that he should have done some more good to be able to have his request granted. In short, Jesus could have turned him away … but He did not. This criminal was the reason why Jesus came to this earth to die. And, while that criminal was still alive, even though he was a short time away from death, as far as Jesus was concerned, he still had a chance to receive eternal life. He did not need to have lived a good life filled with good deeds. He did not need to come down from his cross and do a few good works before he died. At that moment, when he felt convicted of his sin and chose to turn to Jesus, it was enough. Jesus knew what He had to do and He did it … He offered him eternal life.
    If works were the perequisite to eternal life, many who chose to turn to God on their deathbed would have been turned away by God. But the reality is, it’s not about our works or how good we are, it’s about God’s mercy. Ephesians 2:8-9 says: “For by grace are ye saved through faith and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast.” Mercy is defined as: compassion or forgiveness shown towards someone whom it is within one’s power to punish or harm. God’s choice to pardon us and give us another chance is His act of mercy towards us. 
    God is more than willing to pardon us when in fact what we deserve is punishment. Lamentations 3:22-23 says: “Through the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness.” I don’t know about you, but that is an encouragement to me. I am not serving a harsh, judgmental, God who is eagerly waiting to punish me at every opportunity. Rather, I am serving a God who does not run out of compassion and love for me, a God who consistently sees the opportunity to forgive me even though what I deserve is punishment. 
    So, I encourage you today, no matter what you have done or failed to do, don’t ever think of turning away from God. Rather, run to Him for He is more than willing to abundantly pardon.
    If you have not accepted Jesus Christ into your life as your personal Lord and Saviour, I encourage you to do so today. God is the God of mercy, more than willing to forgive you because He loves you and desires the very best for you. Be encouraged!